Loan watch: Three Chelsea loanees who are doing exceptionally well
Chelsea do not have a good record of promoting their academy players to the senior level. It has become a common sight to see the youngsters struggle for playtime at Stamford Bridge. John Terry was the last academy talent to make it big at the senior level and it doesn’t look as if that infamous record is going to change anytime soon.
No youngster wants his growth to be stagnated by constantly sitting on the sidelines and that has often been the case at Chelsea. Consequently, the youngsters have been forced to jump ships or go out on loan to get regular first-team action. The Blues have a history of loaning out players every summer and it hasn’t been any different this year. In fact, Chelsea have as many as 40 players out on loan at various clubs spread across Europe.
While most of the players who are out on loan are getting some taste of first-team football, youngsters like Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ethan Ampadu and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are warming the benches at Stamford Bridge. Hence, when the transfer window reopens in January, we can expect a few of these players to be loaned out as well.
Let us take a look at 3 players who have caught the eye at other clubs this season:-
1. Mason Mount (Derby County)
The 19-year-old caught the eye with several fine performances on his loan stint at Vitesse Arnhem last season where he scored 14 goals across all competitions. As a result of his impressive displays, he was called up by Gareth Southgate to train with the England squad ahead of the World Cup but did not make his cut back then.
However, the immensely talented attacking midfielder has continued his good run on form for Championship side Derby County and received a call-up to the England squad for the UEFA Nations League fixtures against Croatia and Spain.
Mount has taken his game to a new level under the tutelage of Chelsea legend Frank Lampard and has racked up 3 goals and an assist in the Championship so far.
2. Fikayo Tomori (Derby County)
The 20-year-old Canadian born centre-back made his senior debut for Chelsea back in 2016 but has found himself on the club’s loan list since then. He was loaned out to Brighton and Hove Albion in the 2016-17 season and Hull City in the following 2017-18 season where he caught the eye with some solid performances at the back.
However, he seems to be making a name for himself in his most recent loan spell at Derby County. The centre-back has made 11 appearances so far and averages 2 tackles, 1.6 interceptions and 5.3 clearances per game in the Championship. Furthermore, he has also won 2.5 aerial duels per game, which is a good indication that the youngster is continuing his all-round development.
Read More:- 13 goals from 9 games – Chelsea could pull off a shrewd move by signing this Serie A superstar
3. Jake Clarke-Salter (Vitesse Arnhem)
The England U21 international made his professional debut for Chelsea back in 2016 but was loaned out to Bristol City and Sunderland in the coming seasons. However, his performances in the Eredivisie for Vitesse Arnhem has have earned him rave reviews.
Clarke Salter has already made 8 appearances for the Dutch outfit where he has already scored a goal. In fact, he has been very solid at the back and averages 1.8 tackles and 5.8 clearances per game. To go with that, he averages 3.4 successful aerial duels per game.
Just like Fikayo Tomori, he is a good passer and has a pass success rate of 81.5 in the Eredivisie.
